Political Punch
Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
Jake Tapper is ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent based in the network's Washington bureau. He writes about politics and popular culture and covers a range of national stories.
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Happy accidents
July 10, 2007 6:59 PM
Interesting little thing while working on our World News with Charles Gibson spot on GOP Sen. David Vitter's travails with the so-called "D.C. Madam."
There was a speech we wanted to use, a clip of Vitter on the Senate floor on June 6, 2006, talking about the need for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. We wanted to show how a man who had admitted sinning in his marriage was also a leader on socially conservative causes.
Somehow our team working on the spot neglected to order the footage, which was in some immense ABC News warehouse in Siberia. So a little after 5 p.m., we were in a mad scramble to find the clip.
NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, CSPAN, no one was able to provide it for us. (Yes, networks sometimes share footage; it's a nice thing to do and good karma.)
In any case, the only places we could find it were Youtube….Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo….and on Vitter's own Senate website, where it originated. (CLICK HERE)
Weird. Ironic, even.
Anyway, we were able to use the clip from Sen. Vitter's site and it allowed us to further underline the point that Vitter is emphasizing these conservative credentials himself.
-- jpt
July 10, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (4)
The resourceful course of action is to do your exploration without reservation.
Posted by: Hot Air Balloon Flights UK | Jan 25, 2008 5:41:31 PM
I guess we all owe Vitters an apology. He really is for "family values:" According to today's Times-Picayune, the brothel he frequented was run by a woman, her mother, and her daughter. And his children and wife should be thrrilled to learn that treated the hookers with such respect!
Posted by: DKNY | Jul 12, 2007 11:25:50 AM
I did a lot of thinking on this, First is he not from Louisiana? Is that not the second most corrupt state next to NJ? Is anyone surprised at this? Yes he is not following what he preaches, yes, but at least he is not preaching something that will destroy this country and not following it, Look at the Libs who tell everyone BUT themselves to stop driving, buy unsafe cars, smaller houses, use less electricity, this from Gore who owns 9 mansions, Edwards, Clinton Obama and Hollywood phonies, who fly around in their jets using more fuel then the average person uses in a year, more CO2 release then average person disperses in a lifetime they do in one day.
Oh by the way I do not remember much said about that Dem who bragged about having sex with that underage girl, and he was married.
Hypocrisy is on both sides, the difference is that Conservatives/Republicans get rid of their politicians that do it and Libs embrace them and honor their politicians that do it.
Posted by: spock | Jul 11, 2007 10:12:24 AM
Jake, I saw your great report yesterday evening on WN and would never have known about your travails in obtaining the footage you needed, were it not for your comments here. That footage really added a definite punch to your report!
Your piece clearly showed the utter hypocrisy of a man who evidently wants to tell others how to live without applying the same rules to his own life--a classic case of "do as I say and not as I do." Why is it that those who are so desperate to legislate others' moral behavior are those who are the biggest hypocrites? After this incident, Sen. Vitter's moral hectoring on pretty much any subject is merely hot air.
Posted by: chuck | Jul 11, 2007 8:11:41 AM
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